That is the headline shared in the Mirror newspaper (UK) today, October 19. Manchester United announced the completion of construction and commissioning of a new £7 million building at the Carrington training center, after the Old Trafford team was heavily criticized by Cristiano Ronaldo for its facilities . Outdated quality, a decade behind competitors.
Now, MU announced a new training facility at Carrington as part of their efforts to close the gap with their rivals. MU is one of the biggest clubs in the world , but the poor and outdated facilities and training ground of the “Red Devils” have been questioned.
MU’s new facility at Carrington is worth £7 million. PHOTO: MAN UTD
In an explosive interview with Piers Morgan last year, Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed that MU’s training ground had no changes, from when CR7 left MU to join Real Madrid in 2009 until he returned to Old Trafford in 2021.
Meanwhile, Charlie Savage affirmed that Reading’s training ground is “on par with MU”. This young star left MU for League One club (English second division) Reading last summer. Comments like that have annoyed MU, who have also received many complaints about the current situation at Old Trafford.
Therefore, MU is delighted to launch a new £7 million facility for the women’s team and academy at the Carrington training center. The building, which took seven months to complete, features a gym, jacuzzi, locker rooms, player locker rooms, restaurant and meeting rooms.
The new gym of the MU women’s team
New dressing room at the “base” of the MU women’s team in Carrington
That is part of MU’s commitment to the club’s women’s team. The MU women’s team has only been established since 2018 and is growing strongly. This is also part of the “strategic review” plan announced by the Glazer family last November, including consideration of selling MU. And now, it seems that Britain’s richest billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is about to buy 25% of MU shares.
MU CEO Collette Roche shared in the media: “We are carrying out a strategic review for a very positive reason. We have real ambitions and plans at Manchester United. We want to ensure that we attract the right investment to deliver on that ambition.
We are not standing still during this period. Meanwhile, we are obviously continuing to invest in players ( transfers ) and facilities. That’s what you can see with this new facility.”
A new office of the MU women’s team. PHOTO: MAN UTD
The new modern dining room of the MU women’s team. PHOTO: MAN UTD
Collette Roche added that MU has invested £20 million in facilities over the years, with facilities at Littleton Road and The Cliff also being upgraded. New facilities for the MU women’s team are essential. Coach Casey Stoney of the MU women’s team resigned in May 2021 partly due to dissatisfaction with training facilities.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s words to Piers Morgan on Talk TV during CR7’s last days at MU were very frank. Ronaldo said: “Nothing has changed, it’s surprising, not just the swimming pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym, even the kitchen, the chefs that I appreciate, worthy people. love, they seem to stop everything.
That surprised me very much. I think I will see other things at MU, technology and infrastructure. Unfortunately, we see a lot of the same things I saw when I was 21, 22 and 23 at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo once complained and criticized MU’s outdated facilities, decades behind its rivals.
That really surprised me. Since Sir Alex Ferguson left, I have not seen a single positive change at the club. Progress at Manchester United is nil. You have to tear it down and rebuild it.”